Mechanism for raising and lowering windows



y 1934- R. BRIGHT 1,964,809

MECHANISM FOR RAISING AND LOWERING WINDOWS Filed Sept. 10. 1952' l i W 2 y i i 5 1 l 7 i iffifiififitltit:::J-*" 4 1 l: 55 Slide.

Patented July 3, 1934 .MECHANISM O RAISING AND LOWERING WINDOWS Robert Bright, Coventry, England Applicationseptember 10, 1932, Serial No, 632,501

In Great Britain September 15,1931

2 Claims.

in motor vehicles of the saloon and other enclosed types and in railway and tramway vehicles, aeroplanes and airships. -The application of the invention is not, however, necessarily lim-i in a vertical ited to windows which slide direction.

ticularly with improvements in window operating gear of the quick-lift type in which the movement of the window from one extreme position to the other is effected by a small angular movement of an operating handle, as distinguished from the winding type of such gear in which a number of complete revolutions of an operating handle is necessary to move the window the full extent of its travel in either direction.

The said improvements relate chiefly to the provision of means whereby immediately the operating handle is released the window is automatically and positively locked in its adjusted position, said means being itself instantly released by the application of pressure to the handle for the purpose of moving the window into or out of its well or recess.

The invention also includes certain improvements in the form and disposition of the means employed to counterbalance the weight of the window and in the connection between the latter and the operating handle.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into practical effect, reference is made in the following description to the accompanying drawing, in which:-

Figure 1 illustrates one embodiment of a quick-lift window operating mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a detail cross-sectional view on the line w-b of Figure 1;

Figures 3 and 4 are cross-sectional and plan views respectively illustrating one form of automatic locking mechanism.

In the arrangement shown in Figure 1, the window 1, which is arranged to move in fixed guides or channels 2 as usual, into and out of a well or recess 3, is connected at or near the middle of its bottom or inner edge with an arm 4 for which purpose the said edge of the window is fitted with a channel member 5 carrying an open channel 6 in which a roller 7 rotatably mounted on the end of the arm 4 is adapted to The arm is arranged to move in a plane inner sidejof the The present invention is concerned more par- This invention relates to the operation of sliding windows, such as are commonlymemployed parallel with that of the window about a spindle 8 disposed to one side of the latter.

The arm 4 is carried loosely by theinner end of the spindle 8 which is rotatably mounted in or on a garnish rail Q'fixed across the back or,

well orrec'ess; The length of the, arm is suchthatlessthan ,a quarter turn of 'the spindle will be suflicient tomove the window from, one extremelposition to the other.

Associated with the spindle 8 is a resilient de device the function of which is to counter-balance the weight of the window so that it will remain in any position to which it is moved. In the arrangement shown, the said device consists of a flat scroll spring 10 arranged concentrically with the spindle in a casing 11 let into or formed in tegrally with the garnish rail, the inner end of the spring being anchored to a boss 12 formed on the inner face of the casing 11, and the outer end is adapted to be engaged by a projection 13 on the inner face of the arm 4. Alternatively, the rotational movement of the spindle may be controlled by means of an India-rubber bush forced under pressure into said casing and between the latter and a sleeve secured to the spindle. The bush may be split radially and the casing pro vided with an inwardly directed web or fin engaging the split so as to act as an abutment for the rubber bush and prevent its rotation in the casing when the spindle is rotated.

Although the resilient device may be adjusted to hold the window in any position to which it may be moved, it is preferred, especially where, as on vehicles the window is subject to vibration, to provide in addition, a locking means of a more positive nature, and such a means is illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 in which a coiled spring 14 is arranged around the inner periphery of the casing 11, the two ends of said spring being turned inwardly so that the end 15 of the arm 4 which is bent at right angles to the main part of the arm may pass between the two projecting ends with a slight play between the ends of the spring and the end 15.

A cover plate 16 furnished with an inwardly projecting flange l7 and with a centrally disposed squared aperture 18 is placed over the squared portion 19 of the spindle 8 so that the flange 17 is disposed in close proximity to the inner surface of the coiled spring 14, and encloses the spring, 10. The peripheral edge of the cover plate 16 is cut away as shown at 20 to allow the end 15 to have a slight circumferential movement and said cover plate is further provided with a circumferential slot 21 through which the projection 13 on the arm passes to engage the end of the spring 10.

The several parts are maintained in the assembled position either by riveting over the end of the spindle 8 or by means of a nut 22', a washer 23 being preferably placed between the cover plate 16 and the arm 4. The operating handle 24 is secured to the opposite end of the spindle 8 by the bolt 25, a square 26 on the end of said spindle seating in a correspondingly shaped recess provided in the handle preventing independent rotational movement apart from said spindle.

In operation assuming the window to be closed, the weight of the window 1, acting through the lever 4, causes the end 15 of the latter to separate, the ends 14 of the spring 14 from each other thereby expanding the said spring into frictional engagement with the inside wall of the casing 11. To open the window, the handle 24 is depressed which causes one end wall .20 of the recess 20 to bear against one of the inturned ends 14 of the spring 14 thereby contracting the spring and removing the same out of frictional engagement with the inner face of the casing 11; continued downward movement of the handle lowers the window and if pressure is removed from the handle the spring will again expand and bear on the casing and lock the window in any desired position. To lift or close the window the arm 24 is moved in the reverse direction. The weight of the window is at all times balanced by the spring 10.

What I claim is:-

1. In a window control mechanism, the combination of a stationary cylindrical housing, a spindle rotatably mounted in said housing, a peripherally apertured disc disposed in the open end of the housing and keyed to the said spindle, a coiled locking spring disposed in frictional contact with the inner wall of the housing and provided with inturned ends, an arm pivotally mounted on the spindle and turned inwardly at its end to project through an aperture of the disc into the housing and between the inturned ends of the spring, means interposed between housing and arm to efiect a counterbalance to the weight of a window being supported by the arm, and a handle carried by and fixed to the spindle, whereby the tension on the coiled spring may be increased to disengage the same from the housing.

2. A window control mechanism as claimed in claim 1, in which said means comprises a fiat scroll spring located within the housing and secured to the latter at one end, the opposite end thereof attached to and turning with the arm.

ROBERT BRIGHT. 

